Within These Shallow Depths
by pell mell 31
Summary: While the other boys of D-tent are stuck in a mental facility, Stan & Zero are living their oddly lucky lives. The Warden's sister is out to reclaim Kate Barlow's loot. A new adventure, same old characters. EVENTUAL SLASH of the ZigzagMagnet kind!
1. The Confines of Everyday Living

~ WITHIN THESE SHALLOW DEPTHS ~  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, this is my first Holes ficcy. I just reread the book a few days ago, and then I watched the movie, and I just felt like I HAD to write a fic!! Then I paid a visit to the Holes section on ff.net, and I discovered that the stories here are CRAWLING with Mary-Sues. So, to completely avoid that, the only OC in this story is the villain. So yay!  
  
Oh, and by the way . . . I LOVE MIGUEL CASTRO!! His Spanish accent is so . . . cute . . . heh, which reminds me, there WILL be eventual Zigzag/Magnet slash. Can't help it, just love that pairing. Heh . . . don't hate me.  
  
DISCLAIMER: Don't own any of the D-tent boys, or . . . well, anyone from Holes, really. I DO own Sandra Walker, but that's sorta because in reality, I don't think Louis Sachar really wanted the warden to have a little sister.  
  
CHAPTER ONE +++ The Confines of Everyday Living  
  
Magnet sighed as he leaned back in the metal folding chair. Thirty more minutes of this braindead shrink spouting psychological babble, and then he'd be free.  
  
"José, what you've got to think about is WHY you feel the irrepressible need to do the bad things you do. What is the sole cause? What motivates you to steal puppies from the pet store? Is it an inner feeling of some deep-rooted anxiety? Are you pressured by some sort of manipulative outside source? Loneliness, perhaps?"  
  
"I never stole any puppies," was all Magnet said, scowling.  
  
Dr. Carter furrowed his brow as he scribbled on his clipboard. "Why, your file says you have stolen quite a few animals from various pet shops. Puppies included."  
  
Magnet frowned, looking down at his feet. "What I did wasn't stealing."  
  
"Sneaking a puppy out of a pet store in your pocket without paying for it is considered stealing, José."  
  
The Hispanic boy kept his eyes on his shoes. "It's not right to keep animals locked up in cages."  
  
Dr. Carter rolled his eyes, heaving a sigh. "José, I don't know what sort of laws you're familiar with . . ."  
  
Magnet finally looked up. "Familiar with?"  
  
"Yes. I mean, I know the laws must be rather different in Mexico . . ."  
  
Magnet raised one eyebrow. "How do you know I'm from Mexico? I could be Cuban. Maybe I'm from the Dominican Republic, or Puerto Rico. Hell, for all you know, I'm from Spain."  
  
Dr. Carter looked annoyed. "Your file states you were born in Mexico."  
  
Magnet glared. Damn file.  
  
"José, I'm willing to listen to you. I'm willing to work things out. What can I do to help you understand your mistakes?"  
  
This was the question Magnet had been hearing over and over again for the last two months. Ever since he'd arrived here at the Saint Paul's Clinical Institution for the Mentally Troubled.  
  
It had all started, really, when he'd first been caught with the puppy in his pocket. He'd been sent to Camp Green Lake, in Texas, to "build character." At the camp, he hadn't been locked in a dull white office and drilled on his behavior. No, he'd simply been forced to dig a hole a day. Five feet wide and five feet deep. And it had never bothered him.  
  
Then, the Caveman had come along. Things changed after that. Zero ran away, Caveman drove the water truck into a hole, the Warden got excited over a little old lipstick tube, and everything was different. Magnet hadn't really understood what was going on, not until Caveman and Zero found Kissin' Kate Barlow's loot, not until the Warden and Mr. Sir and Dr. Pendanski were arrested, not until rain finally fell after nearly one hundred years.  
  
For a while, Magnet thoughts things would begin to look up. But then, he'd been sent here. Of all the places in the world, this was the last place Magnet wanted to be. He was relentlessly psychoanalyzed by the many psychologists and counselors at the institute, and so far he'd written 'I WILL NOT STEAL PUPPIES' on the board 1,230 times.  
  
The only good things about the place were the D-tent boys.  
  
Luckily for Magnet, X-Ray, Armpit, Zigzag, Squid, and Twitch had all been relocated to the same place as the Hispanic boy. He didn't see the others very often, all of them having different problems, but he had time to converse with them during meals and free time.  
  
None of them were doing so good either. Zigzag's paranoia issue had managed to land him with Dr. Hurley, who gave him strange challenges like not looking under the bed before he went to sleep. Twitch's shrink, Dr. Jenkins, had positioned Twitch about twenty feet away from one of the staff's Ferrari, attempting an exercise in which Twitch would learn to 'resist the temptation'. Needless to say, Twitch had failed this exercise miserably, and had driven the car through the ugly wire fence surrounding the huge building, resulting in a few legal and maintenance difficulties.  
  
They were fed nasty food, their beds were uncomfortable, and they were forced to wear itchy uniforms.  
  
Magnet was SO ready to bust out of this place.  
  
"José? Did you hear me? José, answer the question."  
  
Magnet blinked. "Hmm?"  
  
Dr. Carter sighed, throwing his hands up. "It's hopeless. Not only are you a juvenile delinquent, but you have Attention Deficit Disorder too."  
  
"Does this mean I can go then?" Magnet asked hopefully.  
  
Dr. Carter waved him off. "Yes, go back to your dorm. But be back tomorrow, understand? And don't arrive late next time, all right, José?"  
  
Magnet nodded quickly as he made a break for the door. "Si. Adios!"  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Stanley Yelnats slammed his head against the refrigerator.  
  
"Stanley?! What on EARTH are you doing, baby?"  
  
He was quickly pulled away from the fridge by his mother. "What are you thinking, Stanley?"  
  
Stanley shook his head, attempting to clear his mind. "Um, sorry, Mom. Had a bit of a mental breakdown there."  
  
Mrs. Yelnats eyed her son suspiciously. "Well, if you say so. Just be careful, all right, honey?"  
  
"Yeah, okay, Mom."  
  
Stanley waited until she had disappeared into the family room before grabbing the phone and quickly dialing.  
  
BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!  
  
"Come on, buddy, pick up," Stanley muttered.  
  
BRIIIIIIIIIIIII-  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hi, Mrs. Zeroni? This is Stanley."  
  
"Oh, hello there, Stanley! How are you doing?"  
  
"I'm fine, thank you. Is Hector around?"  
  
"Yes, of course. I'll go get him for you."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Stanley hummed impatiently, hopping from foot to foot and fiddling with the telephone wire.  
  
"Stanley?"  
  
"Hector!"  
  
"What's up, man?"  
  
"Nothing much. Well, a lot actually."  
  
"I figured. What's going on?"  
  
"I'm not sure you wanna know."  
  
"Me neither. But tell me anyway."  
  
Stanley bit his lip. "Um, well . . ."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"I've been getting these, like, REALLY freaky e-mails and stuff lately . . ."  
  
There was a brief pause. "Freaky e-mails?"  
  
"Yeah . . . from someone I don't know, obviously . . ."  
  
"What do they say?" Hector's voice sounded odd.  
  
"Well, um, they kinda . . . well, they threaten me."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Hector?"  
  
Not a sound.  
  
"You there?"  
  
"I've been getting e-mails too."  
  
Stanley gaped. "What?"  
  
"I haven't told anyone though. It's probably just someone pulling some prank. Or at least, that's what I thought. But if you're getting them too . . ."  
  
"What do you think this means?"  
  
"I dunno, man. What's the address you're getting them from?"  
  
Stanley looked at the words he had written in blue ink on the inside of his left palm. "SW42697@hotmail.com."  
  
"Same here!"  
  
"Whoa . . . man, that's a bit weird . . ."  
  
"You're telling me."  
  
"Hector?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Don't you think we should tell someone?"  
  
"I dunno . . . you don't think this has anything to do with your great- grandfather's treasure or anything, do you?"  
  
Stanley's breath caught in his throat.  
  
"Oh shit."  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
A/N: More to come ASAP! It WAS Stanley's GREAT-grandfather, right?? Heh, I kinda forgot . . .  
  
Please review! ^^ 


	2. Soon

~ WITHIN THESE SHALLOW DEPTHS ~  
  
A/N: Well, back again, despite the extreme lack of reviews. For some odd reason or another, I REALLY LIKE this story . . . better than a lot of my other fics. So this one will probably actually be updated REGULARLY. Can you believe it??  
  
Oh, and to warn you yet again: there WILL be eventual Magnet/Zigzag slash. Nothing vivid or explicit, it'll probably be very light, but it will be slash nonetheless. YE HAVE BEEN WARNED!  
  
By the way . . . I AM IN NO WAY MAKING FUN OF KIDS WITH ADHD!! The children in the chapter below have a SEVERE CASE of ADHD, which is why they're acting so weird. If you have ADHD, please don't take offense!! I have tons of friends w/ ADHD too, so I am REALLY not dissing them in this chappie. ::hides:: I PROMISE!!  
  
CHAPTER TWO +++ Soon  
  
*SAINT PAUL'S CLINICAL INSTITUTION FOR THE MENTALLY TROUBLED*  
  
The dining hall was always loud. How could it not be? The room contained five hundred mentally troubled kids, after all. The counselors and staff members had divided the children up according to their "illness", but as it turns out, this wasn't such a great idea.  
  
Over in the left corner were the kids with ADHD. All of them were running around yelling at the top of their lungs, dancing on the tables and throwing silverware. Magnet usually avoided this table. He had already been hit in the head with a soupspoon, a fork, a pair of tongs, and a ladle in the past two months.  
  
Magnet sat at the table for kleptomaniacs. Well, he was supposed to, anyway. Instead, he and the other boys from D-tent just found a space to themselves. The counselors were always too busy trying to keep order over in the ADHD corner to notice.  
  
The kleptomaniac table really wasn't much better. The boys kept stealing each other's food and hiding it in their pockets. When one discovered his sandwich was missing, he would usually run around sticking his hand in the others' pockets to reclaim it. As Magnet walked by this table now, he could see they were involved in a deadly food fight.  
  
Magnet slid his tray through the line, a bored expression on his tan face. A nameless glob of mush was slopped onto his tray. Magnet wrinkled his nose in disgust. This gross stuff for lunch AGAIN?! Then he was given some rare, lumpy mystery meat, and a carton of very old milk.  
  
Zigzag saw Magnet approaching the table. He waved wildly to get his attention. Over by the food line, Magnet rolled his eyes and waved back, then promptly turned towards the garbage can and dumped his tray.  
  
"What'd you do that for?" Zigzag asked as Magnet took a seat beside him.  
  
"Why do you think I did that?" Magnet retorted.  
  
X-Ray looked up from his less than satisfying meal. "You're gonna be hungry, man."  
  
Magnet shrugged. "I'll live."  
  
Zigzag's eyes widened. "Oh my god, guys! Magnet's anorexic!"  
  
Twitch twitched. "Really?"  
  
Squid swatted Zigzag over the head. "Don't listen to him. Acute paranoia, remember?"  
  
"That wasn't no paranoia," Armpit cut in, shaking his head. "That was just Zigzag bein' a dumbass, man."  
  
Zigzag pouted.  
  
Magnet sighed and stood up. "Be right back."  
  
"Where're you going?" Zigzag asked curiously.  
  
Magnet grinned. "You'll see."  
  
The Hispanic boy nonchalantly strolled towards the food line, whistling innocently. He could feel the eyes of D-tent on him, watching his every move. Magnet sidled up to Dr. Hurley, Twitch's counselor, who was clutching a very large Chick-Fil-A bag in his hands.  
  
"Hello there, Dr. Hurley!" Magnet said cheerfully.  
  
Dr. Hurley smiled. "Why, good afternoon, José. How have your sessions been with Dr. Carter?"  
  
"They've been going great! I think I'm really starting to understand the difference between right and wrong," Magnet replied, putting a knowing look on his face.  
  
"That's excellent!" Dr. Hurley exclaimed, looking genuinely pleased. "Wonderful!"  
  
"Well, bye, Dr. Hurley," Magnet said, smiling.  
  
"Goodbye, José." The counselor set the Chick-Fil-A bag down and turned to the Coke machine, slipping in two quarters. While Dr. Hurley's back was turned, Magnet swiftly grabbed the bag and hurried back to his table.  
  
Zigzag's jaw dropped. "Dude . . . is that . . . Chick-Fil-A?"  
  
"Magnet, you klepto!" Squid said, laughing, as the rest of the boys reached into the bag for some decent food.  
  
"I can't help it, man, my hands are like magnets," he replied, grinning.  
  
The boys had just started chowing down on their chicken when Squid looked up and exclaimed, "Here comes Dr. Rosen!"  
  
Dr. Rosen was Squid's current obsession. She was the youngest counselor at the institute, and as such had caught the attention of quite a few boys. She was very tall and very slim, with long wavy golden tresses and bright blue eyes.  
  
"Oh brother," Armpit muttered, shaking his head in exasperation.  
  
"Look at her," Squid breathed, eyes wide. "She's BEAUTIFUL."  
  
"Squid, if you were any shallower, there would be a no-diving sign sticking out of your head," Magnet said, rolling his dark eyes.  
  
Squid scowled. "I resent that."  
  
Zigzag watched Dr. Rosen, eyes narrowed. "I don't think she's that attractive."  
  
"That's because you're gay, man," X-Ray said knowingly.  
  
"I am?" Zigzag asked, scratching his head.  
  
"You must be, if you don't think SHE'S attractive," Squid said pointedly, eyes till upon the beauty.  
  
"How can I be gay and not know it?"  
  
Twitch twitched again. "Well, I know for a fact I'm heterosexual."  
  
"No dude, YOU are AUTO-sexual."  
  
Twitch twitched. "Oh. Right."  
  
"So what does that make me?" Magnet asked.  
  
"Well, I would say bi," Squid said thoughtfully, "except you're not attracted to EVERYONE, it's just that everyone's attracted to YOU."  
  
"Uh . . . they are?"  
  
"Come on, you're like a magnet!" Zigzag said cheerfully, slinging an arm around Magnet.  
  
"I heard Dr. Rosen talkin' to that other young one, um, what's-her-name, Dr. Ford," Armpit spoke up. "She said she thought Magnet's accent was cute or somethin'."  
  
Squid choked on his chicken. "She said WHAT?!"  
  
Magnet wrinkled his nose. "Cute?"  
  
"You've gotta admit, it's very endearing," Zigzag agreed, nodding.  
  
Magnet stared at Zigzag. "Zig . . . since when have you known big words like 'endearing'?"  
  
Zigzag blinked. "I honestly have no idea where that came from."  
  
"The Apocalypse is coming, Zigzag's using big words!" Squid exclaimed, jumping up. "And people are calling Magnet's accent cute! THE WORLD IS GONNA END!"  
  
"NOW who's suffering from acute paranoia?" Zigzag muttered darkly.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
*YELNATS HOUSEHOLD*  
  
"YOU'VE GOT MAIL!"  
  
Stanley bit his lip as he hesitantly clicked the little mailbox, dreading to see what lay within.  
  
Oh damn, he thought. Another one from SW42697@hotmail.com. The subject of this one was simply "Soon."  
  
Stanley reluctantly opened the e-mail.  
  
TIME IS RUNNING OUT. WHAT IS MINE, I SHALL GET FROM YOU. WHAT IS MINE, I SHALL KEEP.  
  
SOON. VERY SOON.  
  
Stanley was shaking now. That had been the shortest one yet, but it had caused him the most worry. Did this person actually know who he was? Where he lived?  
  
Stanley abruptly signed off and jumped into bed fully clothed. Something was going on. He fell into an uneasy sleep, those words resonating throughout his head . . .  
  
Soon . . . very soon . . .  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
A/N: REVIEW PLEASE! 


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